Chapter 17: A Benefactor on the Suspected Desert Planet

“Ye Moxi? Follow me.”

Stepping into a lavish office, a handsome man with black hair and green eyes was carefully tending to several small planting trays.

These trays were exquisite and delicate, prompting Ye Moxi to marvel silently—truly, this was the Imperial Star! Even the testing equipment for the lowest tier of the planting department in the Talent Academy was so refined.

Of course, with their current wealth, they could easily afford the expenses of the Imperial Star. With the best schools available, why settle for anything less?

“Hello! I’m Ye Moxi.”

Ye Moxi nodded obediently and handed over her enrollment application form.

It was surprising that in such a high-tech interstellar society, one could still see such a simple paper application form.

Feng Xun, head of the planting department and the future branch dean, looked at the beautiful young girl in a light purple sheer dress standing before him. She was poised and confident, meeting his scrutinizing gaze with a calm, straightforward expression, free of any hidden thoughts.

So, this was the new student his nephew had personally asked him to interview?

Could she be the savior from Desert Planet?

“Ahem... Let’s begin the entrance test.”

Perhaps because he had stared for too long, the girl’s gaze began to grow wary.

Feng Xun quickly reined in his thoughts.

He handed several seeds into Ye Moxi’s palm.

“Try to make them sprout.”

Using wood-element talent to stimulate germination? She could handle that! It was well-known on the star network that the planting department’s entrance test was all about making seeds sprout.

Wasn’t that a simple task?

As long as the seed was plump and full of vitality, a slight touch of wood-element talent could coax a whole patch to sprout...

Otherwise, if you waited for seeds to germinate and grow naturally, how much harvest would be lost?

When she had previously planted on a small planet, this was how she practiced her talent. The rice, wheat, and vegetables she cultivated were all at the spiritual plant level. If not for their inability to open their own shop, they wouldn’t have been forced to sell at a discount to middlemen.

However, Ye Moxi was no fool—wouldn’t it be better to use wood-element talent to cultivate higher-grade spiritual medicinal plants?

Before, resources had been limited. Now that she was on the Imperial Star, the Talent Academy had many pharmacy students in need of abundant spiritual medicinal plants. Many planting students were actually working while studying, since truly wild spiritual medicinal plants were not an infinitely renewable resource.

Ye Moxi effortlessly caused the seeds to sprout into three-centimeter seedlings…

Feng Xun raised an eyebrow—every one of the seven seeds had sprouted!

Without revealing his excitement, he picked up a small planting tray pre-filled with nutrient soil, likely with seeds pre-planted.

These were level-three spiritual plant seeds, which normally required level-four talent to sprout, and level-five to grow into seedlings, though Feng Xun hadn’t explained this to Ye Moxi.

He handed the tray to her.

Without hesitation, Ye Moxi channeled her wood-element talent. Soon, the seeds broke through the soil, slender stalks about the thickness of chopsticks, topped with two tender green leaves.

A dozen small seedlings looked promising.

A glint of predatory delight flashed in Feng Xun’s eyes, quickly masked.

He casually wrote “Level Five” on Ye Moxi’s test record and signed it with his own name as the mentor.

Then, he handed it back to Ye Moxi.

“Report here in three days. Your dorm will be arranged by then. Of course, bring your tuition with you. If you have any difficulties, contact me directly... Before you go, add me on your light brain. I’m your direct mentor, Feng Xun.”

He spoke, and Ye Moxi nodded obediently. Then she took out her light brain and linked it with Feng Xun’s.

“I’ll be going now! Mentor, do you want some dessert? I baked it myself…”

Ye Moxi closed the door and walked out.

As she passed a tall man in combat armor, she thought to herself how tall he was, and how he looked like the kind of person who looked slim in clothes but muscular underneath.

Suddenly, a tiny white creature popped out of her spiritual sea.

Ye Moxi had happily traded for the Bodhi Lotus partly because the other party had given several high-level beast cores.

Beast cores could only be absorbed by human talent users, but beast souls were also absorbable. So Ye Moxi had given two cores to the little white creature, who had been sleeping in her spiritual sea for the past two days.

For some unknown reason, it suddenly awoke and leapt out, rushing straight at the tall man.

“Tuanzi, what are you doing…”

The man’s face was smudged by the white creature, leaving only his eyes visible through the gaps. Hearing Ye Moxi call out, he froze, then suddenly reached out to grab her hand.

Ye Moxi instinctively summoned a whip with her other hand.

The man’s pupils dilated behind his sunglasses!

It was her! Truly her!

That red spiritual energy orb, and… the whip!

No doubt, she was the girl from Desert Planet!

Before Ye Moxi could react, the man pulled her by both hands back into Feng Xun’s office.

Feng Xun was savoring the milk tea Ye Moxi had kindly provided, marveling that his new student was not only gifted but also a considerate little sweetheart, when his nephew Feng Yanhu unexpectedly barged in with his new “little sweetheart.”

His nephew held Ye Moxi’s small hands in one hand and her nape in the other…

Actually, to protect her from injury should she struggle.

“What are you doing?”

What did he think this was, holding some spy from another star system?

But Feng Yanhu’s emerald eyes burned with intensity.

Three months!

It felt like three years!

His suspicions had proven correct!

“Desert Planet, whip! Red spiritual energy…”

What?

Following his gaze, Ye Moxi looked down at the whip in her hand.

Thinking she had forgotten, Feng Yanhu summoned the Vermilion Bird beast soul.

Howl! She remembered!

Her Vermilion Bird beast soul!

“You! It’s you!”

Ye Moxi exclaimed excitedly, “Pay up!”

Feng Yanhu and Feng Xun were stunned.

“Pay… money?”

“Interstellar credits! You can’t just take my beast soul for free, can you? Have some shame!”

“You… I…” Feng Yanhu wiped his forehead, revealing a fiery lotus mark.

It looked so familiar… Ye Moxi was full of questions.

Ah! Xi Mo had the same mark on her forehead!

But what did it mean?

Maybe she truly didn’t understand it!

Feng Yanhu and amused Feng Xun simultaneously had the same thought.

“We’ll talk about the beast soul later. This… is the spiritual brand you imprinted on me…”

Feng Yanhu touched his forehead.

What? A spiritual brand?

What on earth was that?

“You must be a guide, right?”

Ye Moxi’s pupils constricted, and she looked up at the ceiling, left and right, clearly signaling that she refused to admit it, thinking they had no way to force her.

“Uncle?”

Feng Yanhu glanced at Feng Xun.

Feng Xun said irritably, “I set up a restriction! You can speak freely now.”

Ye Moxi’s heart suddenly tightened.

Feng Xun’s expression shifted, and he immediately became gentle and kind.

“Ye Moxi, can you tell me why you awakened spiritual power but chose the planting department instead of the guide department?”

“I don’t want to be a guide. I don’t want to direct others. I want a simple life. Besides, you should know better than I do whether I’m a guide or not.”